


No More Bleeding

by KH310-S (Author_of_Kheios)



Series: Android Blood [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 14:46:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15932615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_of_Kheios/pseuds/KH310-S
Summary: “Markus!” I lunge forward, but North, being closer, beats me there. She kicks the human back and wrenches the pipe away from him. I leave her to that and focus on Markus instead. “Are you alright? Are you damaged?”





	No More Bleeding

A shout of pain draws my attention away from the barricade. Markus is reeling back from a human that made it past the police line and took a pipe to his head while his back was turned.

“Markus!” I lunge forward, but North, being closer, beats me there. She kicks the human back and wrenches the pipe away from him. I leave her to that and focus on Markus instead. “Are you alright? Are you damaged?”

“I’m fine,” he assures, touching the back of his head where the pipe connected. His fingers come back smeared with blue, and I could swear my thirium pump stops for a split second.

“You’re bleeding!”

“Simon, relax,” he says firmly, grabbing my arm. “I’m fine. My casing is just a little cracked; I’ll be alright.”

“Just a little cracked?” North growls, trying to get at the human; Josh has made it over to us and is holding her back while police drag the screaming human back to the other side of the blockade. “Let go, Josh; I’ll bash his head in!”

“Calm down, North, geez,” Josh grunts, doing his best to get the pipe away from her.

“Easy, North,” Markus chimes in. “We’re protesting _peacefully_ , remember?”

“Stupid idea,” she mutters, but stops trying to get away. She even lets Markus take the pipe from her.

“Sir! You left your pipe,” he calls, jogging across the square to the blockade and offering it back to the man that hit him. My thirium pump glitches for a moment, sending an extra pulse of blue blood through my body.

Markus is beyond forgiving. I don’t know how he does it, how he can look at the humans with such compassion, even after all they’ve done to us. At every protest, he demands non-violence, even when anti-android humans attack us. We can defend ourselves, break away from the attackers, get to safety, but only North can get away with retaliating, and only because we can’t really stop her.

But then Markus goes and does something like this, returning the enemy’s weapon, and making us all feel unworthy of his leadership, shamed for our desire to fight back. He makes us want to be better, and we all strive to make Jericho a kinder, more compassionate place.

Anti-android groups may still rise up against us, but with Markus as our leader, public opinion of the general populace is approving and supportive; with every march, we gain traction toward freedom and equal rights for androids.

“We don’t deserve him,” North says softly. I glance at her, surprised. She’s watching Markus talk calmly to the shouting men and women on the other side of the police-guarded barricade, a warring expression of irritation and regret on her face.

There’s something else there as well. Something I recognise, because I feel it too.

“He chose us as much as we chose him,” Josh points out. “He could have ignored us, could have used us to get a foothold elsewhere. He stuck with us, fights for us.”

“We’d still be falling to pieces in Jericho if not for him,” she agrees. “But we didn’t do anything to make it easier. We’ve fought him every step of the way.”

“No, we haven’t,” I speak up quietly, thinking back to my conversation with Markus just before we gathered for this protest. I had much the same fears and regrets; I went to apologise and voice my concerns that we weren’t making progress. I draw on the courage his words then gave me. “We’ve made some things difficult, sure, because _we_ don’t agree; the three of us. He relies on us for advice, to back him up, to make sure things don’t go wrong. If... If we agreed more... We’ve fought each other every step of the way, not him.”

“Shit, you’re right,” Josh admits, scowling. “Damnit...” He paces a bit, rubbing his neck, and North gives me a cautious side eye, defenses up.

“So now you’re going to tell me to stop being so violent,” she offers blatantly. Thirium rushes to my cheeks, and I stammer for a reply.

“Obviously,” Josh scoffs. “Your problem isn’t just being too violent, it’s being violent at the wrong times. ‘Peaceful’ protests, North; not ‘attack everyone.’”

“Those bastards attack us first!” she snaps.

“Guys, please!” I beg, grabbing their arms before they can start fighting again. “This is exactly what I mean!”

“I’m trying to protect us!” She yanks her arm from my grasp. “To protect Markus! What don’t you understand about that??”

“I _do_ understand,” I insist, pleading with her. “I want to protect him too, but attacking the humans isn’t the way to do that! You’re undoing everything he’s working for by proving them right, proving that we’re mindless machines that don’t care if the humans get hurt!”

She has no reply for that; she stares at me, realisations dawning slowly in her eyes. I turn away quickly before they come to full fruition.

“And you, Josh... You keep fighting with her just because you don’t like violence. Sometimes we have to fight, and there’s no one better for that than North. You’re _too_ cautious; we won’t ever get equal rights if we don’t take risks sometimes.”

He turns away, pulling from my grasp and crossing his arms. I sigh and look back at Markus, who has his hands up, trying to calm the humans very nearly on the verge of rioting. I should go help him...

“Simon.” North grabs my hand, skin sliding away. My hand does the same, automatically, and I feel the rush of truth, both ways.

I knew it; she feels the same way I do about Markus. Now she knows too.

She pulls away, torn.

“I just want to protect him,” she whispers hoarsely, holding my gaze. “I’d die for him.”

“I know,” I whisper back, turning to go help Markus. “Me too.”


End file.
